12 Days of Jolex 2015
by Serendipity Cullen
Summary: It's that time of year again! The 12 Days of Jolex! This year, all drabbles will be around 200 words! What Christmas traditions will Jolex embark on this year? Read to find out :) All characters belong to Shonda Rhimes & Grey's Anatomy. I just own the situation ;)
1. Day 1 - Eggnog

**A/N - The holidays are back! I hope you enjoy the 2015 version of Jolex's 12 Days of Christmas!**

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Day 1 - Eggnog

"Jo!" Alex Karev called as he walked over to the bed, shaking his sleeping girlfriend. "You're going to be late!" The resident was called in the night before, so he couldn't blame her for wanting to sleep in. Unfortunately, surgeons didn't have that luxury.

"I'm up, I'm up," the brunette groaned as she rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes.

"Coffee?" the peds surgeon asked as he grabbed the pot he'd brewed minutes earlier.

"Yes, please."

Alex mixed her coffee first with two spoons of sugar, just as she liked. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed the glass bottle of milk for his coffee.

Or what he thought was milk.

After dipping the liquid in his coffee and taking a sip, Alex nearly choked. "What the hell is that?!"

"What?" Jo asked as she appeared in her blue scrubs and sipped her coffee.

"That, in that jar!"

"Eggnog."

"Eggnog?! Since when do we drink eggnog?"

"Since now," the brunette smiled. "This is our first Christmas in our new place, so...we're drinking eggnog."

"I like cider."

"Tough," Jo smirked. "You're drinking eggnog."


	2. Day 2 - Stockings

Day 2 - Stockings

"What a day," Alex complained one cold December evening as he stepped into the loft. "Hey," he greeted his girlfriend.

"Hey," Jo smiled in return as she pulled a pizza from the oven. "Hope you're hungry."

"Starving." The surgeon shrugged off his coat and hung it on the nail near the door. "What's that?" he frowned, pointing to the red fabric sitting on the coffee table.

The brunette bit her lip as she ran the pizza cutter through the pizza. "I saw those stockings at the store when I was picking up the pizza... I thought we could hang them over the tv."

"Since when do we do stockings?"

"Since we started drinking eggnog."

Alex smirked, shaking his head. "You're really going to do this Christmas thing, aren't you?"

Jo pushed the food aside and walked over to him, remembering the day at April's wedding. That day Alex had mentioned the two of them, a future, and children. Unfortunately, they both came from screwed up backgrounds and would probably screw up their kids' lives. Unless they changed. "I just thought it'd be nice to do the whole Christmas thing as a couple...before we started a family, you know?"

Alex stared at her for a few seconds. It was clear to him that she was in this-living together, starting a family... She was in this. "Fine, I'll hang them up after dinner."


	3. Day 3 - Decorations

**A/N - I'm so glad the Jolex fandom is enjoying these little short stories again! :) I find it challenging to write something meaningful in a few words :) Also, I had to give them a stove in the last one. I just had to! A hot plate is funny, but totally impractical ;) completely rules out the junk, freezer food you KNOW they're eating lol xoxo**

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Day 3 - Decorations

"Hey, you ready to go?" Alex asked one evening as he poked his head into the resident's lounge.

"Almost," Jo replied as she pulled on her coat and zipped it up quickly.

"What the heck is that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as she retrieved a box from the corner.

"Decorations," the brunette replied and bit her lip.

"Christmas decorations?"

"No, Easter decorations," she rolled her eyes. "Of course they're Christmas decorations!"

"We're decorating now?" Alex clarified as he opened the lounge door for her.

"Yeah," Jo replied, a lift to her voice. "I don't know a thing about decorating, so this is Kepner's stuff."

"Kepner's?" he asked skeptically. "Isn't it cursed?"

"Don't say that," the resident hissed and elbowed him. "They're trying to work things out."

"Whatever."

After picking up some Chinese take out, the lovers' returned to the loft. They replaced bulbs, nearly set the place on fire, and everything was lop-sided, but it was worth it. The two were finally an _us_. Their home. Their decorations. Their Christmas.


	4. Day 4 - Secret Santa

Day 4 - Secret Santa

"You're late," Alex observed, sliding a salad across the table as his girlfriend dropped into the seat across from him.

"Yeah, we were drawing names for secret santa," Jo replied and ripped over her pack of dressing. "I'm starving!"

"Secret Santa?" the peds surgeon asked, his eyebrow lifting. "Since when do you do secret santa?"

"Since this year," the resident smirked. "Things have been hard lately, with Shepherd's death, so we're just trying to move on and make things a little better... Life is short, you know." The brunette mixed her greens with her fork as she spoke. "I mean, I could get in a wreck and die on my way home tonight. You never know."

"Don't talk like that," Alex mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. It was bad enough that his former wife had died in his freaking arms, but now...now he loved Jo even more, and the thought of losing her... It would definitely be the end of him. "Who did you get?" he asked and shook the thoughts away.

"Callie."

He raised an eyebrow at her tone. "Is that a problem? I thought you liked Torres."

"I do, it's just... I'm not sure what to get her," Jo admitted quietly. "I mean, if I had picked Meredith, that would be easy. A bottle of tequila, and I'm done."

The surgeon chuckled. "We'll go to the mall tonight and find something."

A slow smile curved the woman's lips. "You're going Christmas shopping with me?"

"Yeah, the crowds are only going to get worse the closer we get to Christmas."

"There's the Scrooge I know and love."

"Bah humbug," Alex chuckled and shook his head.


	5. Day 5 - Popcorn String

Day 5 - Popcorn String

Alex stepped into the loft one morning around 2 AM after a long shift in the pit. His brows knit together as he spotted his girlfriend sitting in the middle of the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Ow!" Jo exclaimed, bringing her finger to her mouth. "I'm making a popcorn string."

"At two in the morning?"

The brunette shifted as her cheeks flushed. "I was, uh, waiting for you...actually..."

The peds surgeon sighed, feeling like a heel. "Part of this whole Christmas thing, right?"

"Right."

Alex dropped his bag, shrugged out of his lab coat, and sat in the floor across from her. "What do I do?"

Jo smiled shyly before holding up the needle and thread, explaining how to create the retro decoration. "You can start on the other end," she motioned to the thread lying in the floor.

Alex picked up the thread and needle, starting on the project. "Won't this attract roaches?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"It never did at the McGregor house," came the quiet reply.

"Who were the McGregors?"

The brunette kept her gaze on the task at hand. "They were one of my foster families...we always made popcorn strings..."

The surgeon nodded slowly, keeping quiet. Sometimes words weren't necessary; if this was important to Jo, then he'd string popcorn until his fingers fell off.


	6. Day 6 - Parade

Day 6 - Parade

"Jo, let's go!" Alex bellowed into the resident's lounge as he yanked his jacket on.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she exclaimed and burst through the door, pulling her hair into a bun.

"Where's your coat? It's freezing out there."

"Crap!" The resident dashed back to her locker, returning seconds later. "Okay, I'm ready now," she grinned as she zipped up her coat. "I can't believe we're doing this!"

Earlier that week over breakfast, Alex had noticed an article in the paper about the upcoming Christmas parade downtown. Since he and Jo were building their own Christmas traditions, he thought going to the parade was a must.

"I can't believe we're doing this," he grumbled an hour later as yet another marching band moved through the streets.

"Isn't it great?!" Jo exclaimed, her cheeks glowing from the chill in the air.

A snappy retort was on his lips, but Alex managed to restrain himself. His girlfriend, his everything, was like a kid in a candy store. She was truly, truly happy. "Yeah, it's great," he smiled and wrapped his arms around her, snuggling her close as the parade continued.


	7. Day 7 - Candy Cane

Day 7 - Candy Cane

"And we stood in the freezing cold for two hours just to watch a few kids blow some horns," Alex complained the next day as he reviewed a patient's chart.

"Awww, that sounds sweet," Arizona chirped, trying to be optimistic. "Callie always enjoyed the parade."

The peds surgeon made a noise in the back of his throat before setting the tablet aside. "We're trying to do the whole Christmas thing," he continued and looked to his mentor. "Establish our own traditions, you know? I just don't think the parade should be one of them."

"You could always take her to New York next year," Arizona suggested. "Start off the Christmas season with the Thanksgiving parade."

Alex considered the thought. It was actually a good idea. "Thanks, Robins," he remarked and reached into his labcoat for a pen.

And retrieved a candy cane.

"Jo?" Arizona smirked.

"Who else?" Alex chuckled, shaking his head. The sneaky little elf had slipped the striped candy into his pocket when she hugged him before lunch. "See you in surgery." He left the desk to check on his patient, but kept the candy cane tight in his grip.


	8. Day 8 - Charity

Day 8 - Charity

"I need to talk to you," Alex greeted a few days later, taking Jo's arm and leading her away from the second floor nurse's station. "Chief just asked if I was going to Portland with you."

The resident cringed-she'd hoped she'd be able to tell her boyfriend herself about her decision. "I was going to tell you tonight..."

"What's going on?" the peds surgeon frowned. "Are you leaving me?"

"No, no, of course not!" Jo soothed, touching his shoulder. "I just...the spokesperson for the hospital was here, and...this is something I need to do..."

Alex released a slow breath. At least she wasn't leaving him. "Doing what?"

"It's the Shriner's hospital," the brunette explained. "They're a children's hospital, and they don't charge anything. They help these poor kids, and...they don't pile medical bills on the family." She blinked away tears. "I'm donating my services for a month. One month, that's it. Chief said I can take a leave of absence and come back."

The surgeon ran a hand through his hair. "Shriner's huh?"

"Yeah," Jo nodded. "We had a rough life, Alex, but these kids...they have real disabilities. This is my way of giving back."

Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "Sign me up."


	9. Day 9 - Ice Skating

Day 9 - Ice Skating

"I can't believe you talked me into this!" Jo shrieked as her feet flew out from under her once again.

Alex chuckled to himself as he caught her right before her butt hit the ice. "You're the one who wanted Christmas traditions," he smirked.

"My traditions don't end with a broken leg," the brunette pointed out as he steadied her on her feet.

"You'll be fine," her boyfriend grinned. "I've got you."

Jo smiled to herself. She liked knowing that he had her. "How are you so good at this anyway?" she asked and held onto his arm with both of her hands.

"One of my foster dads was a hockey player," Alex explained. "He taught us all how to play; I think just to keep us out of his hair."

"Maybe so," the brunette giggled.

The couple skated for another hour or so before grabbing a cup of hot chocolate from a vendor at the park. And Alex's promise held true-he had her and never let her fall.


	10. Day 10 - Mistletoe

Day 10 - Mistletoe

"What are you doing, Kepner?" Jo asked as she squeezed past the surgeon who was standing in a chair at the nurse's station.

"Hanging up some mistletoe," the redhead chirped.

"Who needs mistletoe?" the brunette scoffed. "Everyone here is either married or involved, so...no fun there."

"It's not just about the kissing," April frowned after hanging the sprig and stepping down. "It makes the place look festive."

"Lights do the same thing."

"Hush it, Scrooge," the surgeon sassed before heading to the fourth floor to hang more of the greenery.

Jo shook her head and laughed to herself before glancing to the mistletoe. Maybe she'd stop at the store and grab some to take back to the loft. Mistletoe was a Christmas tradition, right? Plus, having a reason to get dozens of kisses from Alex was _never_ a bad thing.


	11. Day 11 - Gifts

Day 11 - Gifts

"Hey," Jo greeted on Christmas Eve as she entered the loft. "What are you doing?!"

A sheepish Alex actually turned red as he dropped the giftbox under the tree. "Nothing."

"Nothing?!" she exclaimed, wiggling out of her coat in a hurry. "We said no gifts!"

"I know, but..." He let the sentence drop, hoping she'd let him off the hook.

"It's okay," the resident smirked, pulling a white envelope from her scrub pocket. "I got you a gift too."

"What'd you get me?" Alex asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow!" the brunette shrieked before running around the loft. After jumping over the loveseat, Jo dashed to the tree, dropping the envelope beside the box. "Safe!" she laughed when his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Damn," Alex chuckled before kissing her softly. He knew they had agreed to no gifts, but he also knew that he couldn't wait any longer. He was ready to make Jo Wilson his wife.


	12. Day 12 - Christmas Morning

**A/N - I hope you've enjoyed the 12 Days of Jolex, 2015 version! I've been sick with a cold lately, so I'm sorry that I was unable to post every day! But, at least you got them as a last massive gift ;) Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating! xoxo**

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Day 12 - Christmas Morning

The next morning Alex woke slowly, sniffing the air as an aroma tickled his nose. "Jo?" he questioned after rubbing his eyes.

"Over here," she called from the stove, dressed in one of his shirts.

"Are you cooking?" he asked as he threw back the blanket and pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms.

"Canned cinnamon rolls," the brunette blushed.

"They smell great." He entered the kitchen and placed a peck to her cheek.

Jo smiled softly and set the pan aside. "Want to do gifts now?"

"I just woke up," Alex laughed.

"I can't wait anymore," she whined, taking his hand and leading him to the loveseat. "Merry Christmas!"

Her boyfriend took the envelope, smiling at her excitement. "Plane tickets," he whispered after pulling the tickets from the envelope.

"To see Aaron and Amber," Jo whispered. "After what happened with Jimmy...I thought it was time to touch base with your family."

Alex opened his mouth to express his gratitude, but no words seemed eloquent enough. So instead, he wrapped her in a tight hug and held her for several long minutes. "Thank you," he mumbled in her hair. He brushed away threatening tears and retrieved the giftbox from the tree.

Seconds later Jo was crying out of happiness and saying yes as he slid the ring onto her finger. Not only had they started their Christmas traditions, but they had also started their family.


End file.
